Infragilis Vinculum
by Shyma Tavrott Lupin
Summary: “Here are the papers,take them and go,get out of here” Ian whispered shoving a sealed package into his older brother’s chest. “Keep the papers” John said quickly "Either we get out together or we don’t get out at all.” Non-slash
1. Together or Not At All

**Hey guys, thanks for stopping by. This is a companion piece to my story Quondum Iterum but this will make perfect sense too if you haven't read it. It's an extended version of Ian's memory from chapter 5 of Q.E so Enjoy!**

John Rider cursed loudly as he heard sirens begin to bellow behind him.

"Ian, hurry the fuck up or we'll both die in here" he growled to his younger brother, who was a step behind him. Both Riders shot swiftly through the wet grass under their feet.

"Christ John, you're not the one carrying the packet of all important papers that will cause the end of the world if even one is lost" Ian whispered back.

John chose to ignore that last statement and hurried along. It was about at that moment that several enormous circular lights flashed on in the night sky, searching for both the Riders in the field.

"Shit" John muttered as he picked up his pace, his brother following the movement. "Our chopper is waiting just a few miles out of the edge of the property, if we can just make it out of here, we'll be good to go" he informed the younger.

Ian simply nodded. But being as young as he was and having been an agent for only two years, he recoiled a bit when the sudden sound of shotguns firing filled the night sky.

And as if he had expected his brother to do so, John spoke "Come on Ian, keep running." He knew they must have been spotted and that security was trying to shoot for them. However they had covered some pretty good distance from the mansion and it would probably be hard for them to make a shot from back there. John revisited this thought though, when the sound of the gunshots seemed to have doubled. Each bullet slicing the air could be heard loud and clear, and more than once John had felt the dirt blow out from underneath his feet. He was sure they had reinforced more men to find them.

He knew there was still much distance they still had to carry before they left the property of this mob boss that they had invaded but at the same time he tried to push the thought from his mind. Having negative thoughts at this time would not help him. He was in a well paced sprint when two especially loud shots fired simultaneously someplace behind him followed by a rather loud thud.

Not bothering to waste the time to stop, John simply turned his head to look, but found his heart skipping several beats when he saw his brother was no longer behind him.

"Fuck, no!" he cried out suddenly realizing the younger must have been shot. He wasted no time to screech to a halt, double back and dash for his brother.

With a sickening thought, he realized that he had lost his brother a while back, because he had to run some distance and dodge several oncoming bullets before he came across the teen laying on the ground, clutching his left leg. John immediately dropped to the ground next to him.

"Here are the papers, take them and go" Ian whispered shoving a sealed package into his older brother's chest.

"Keep the papers, I'm not going anywhere without you, do you understand?" John said quickly, placing a hand behind Ian's back, helping him sit up "Either we get out together or we don't get out at all."

"No god dammit, take the papers back, you've got a lot more to lose than I do" Ian said weakly, resting his head on his brother's chest.

"Where are you shot?" John asked quickly.

"Left leg…right shoulder" Ian answered.

"Alright, hang on" John said as he swiftly pulled his younger brother into a battlefield carry, stood up and made a run for it. He could make a few feet with Ian's weight (considering Ian didn't really weigh much to begin with…) Their chopper was a much farther distance off but once they got off the property, they'd be safe from the gunshots. Which would probably give him enough time and space to at least patch up Ian's wounds so he didn't bleed to death. He swore to do everything in his power to keep his younger brother alive. He would not go down, and if he did then he swore by all he held dear to him, that Ian would not go down with him.

It was approximately 20 minutes before John jumped the fence bordering his enemies' territory and found safe cover behind a large tree.

This was where he was now, slowly lowering his brother onto the ground. Ian groaned a bit the movement.

"Alright, your shoulder's got the bullet still in the wound. As for your leg the bullet pierced through the flesh and possibly skimmed across the bone, considering the pain you're feeling, so we just have to stop the bleeding for that one so I'll treat that first. I'm going to have to remove the bullet from your wound before I bandage them so they don't get infected. Alright?" John spoke softly as he unzipped his vest.

Ian simply nodded.

John then pulled a roll of gauze out from the pouch at his side. He tore off a strip with his teeth and wasted no time to quickly wrap it around Ian's wounded leg. He tied it off and turned his attention to the more serious wound in the younger's shoulder.

"Ok, I'll fix your shoulder now…" John muttered, carefully examining the shoulder.

Ian nodded.

"The hard way…I don't have an anesthetic on me…" John trailed off "So it's going to hurt like hell-"

"Already hurting like hell" Ian interrupted with a grunt.

"Yes, well it'll hurt even more. But I'm going to need you to try to stay as quiet as you can; we're not too far from the borderline" John said as he pulled a few items out from inside his pouch. First a miniature bottle of rubbing alcohol, a few cotton balls, a lighter and a small knife.

"I'll try" Ian muttered.

"Alright, here goes" John said taking the rubbing alcohol and soaking a small puff of cotton ball partially into the liquid "Look at my face, not my hands. Don't pay attention to what I'm doing, talk to me, and keep your mind off of the wound. It'll help, believe me."He quickly recapped the bottle and set it aside. He picked up the knife and quickly rubbed it down with the alcohol. John then brought the hand that was not holding the cotton ball to his brother's, clasping his hand firmly onto Ian's. "It's gonna be alright, ok?"

Ian nodded "Yeah, ok…what do you want me to talk about?"

"Anything. What about…" John trailed off, the spoke the names of the first two people that came to his mind "Mum and Dad? D'you remember that talk you had with them before they left for their last mission?"

Ian nodded quickly.

"What happened? They never told me about it, said it was something you had to tell me on your own once you're felt ready" John said looking the knife over.

"They told me to stay in line. You know how I wasn't doing too good in school?" Ian began to speak.

John nodded, and taking that as an ok to go on, John dipped the knife cautiously, tip first into the clear bullet wound in Ian's shoulder. Ian took a sharp intake of breath at the sudden intrusion and his hand flinched in his brother's.

"Keep talking, Ian" John did his best to keep his emotions from interrupting the task at hand. He carried on and dug the knife deeper into the wound until he felt the bullet.

"They gave me the whole 'life is no joke' lecture-seemed that's all they did to me anymore, what with you being their star child and all, what better did they have to do with their, good for nothing average son?" Ian gave a dry chuckle.

John weaved the tip of the knife underneath the bullet and as quickly as he could, pushed it out.

Ian's grip on John's hand tightened immensely, as he bit his lip to hold back a scream. "They told me to be good while they were gone. To pass my finals, be good to you, learn from you-oh and they told me off again about that whole Karina Basta incident. Said they didn't want me going out and shagging a random girl and dishonoring their name ever again."

Quickly John took his hand out of Ian's, grabbed the lighter, sparked it and held the knife over the flame. And when it turned a glowing amber color, he turned the lighter off and pressed the burning metal against the bullet wound, causing a pained reaction from the younger.

Ian's breath quickened, and he pressed his forehead against his brother's chest in an attempt to somehow dull the pain. "They didn't understand how it was just a frustrated attempt to release all these…these emotions. I didn't even know Karina before we got into the bar, it was just an in the moment thing. You know what I mean?"

John opened his mouth to reply but Ian cut him off.

"Of course you don't know. Because you're a fucking genius. You are the epitome of goodness, John. You are the perfect son, the perfect agent, the perfect brother, you are just bloody fucking perfect-" Ian broke off as the wound began to sting.

"Easy Ian, just a little more. This is just to seal the wound and stop the bleeding quicker" John explained as he pressed the metal harder.

"You're perfect…it's why mum and dad loved you more" Ian said gently, resting his head against his brother's shoulder.

John opened his mouth to say something-anything to reply to the younger's outburst. To make him feel in the least better. Both Ian and himself, because if there was anything John hated, then it was the fact that he was half the reason his brother lived a life in a shadow. But found no words forming in his mouth.

And as the knife began to cool, John removed it from the now melded wound.

"John…it hurts" Ian whispered almost helplessly.

"I know, Ian, I know" John said softly, replacing his items into his pouch and putting his arms around his younger brother. He held Ian close and attempted to keep him somewhat warm. Then rested his chin softly upon short dirty blonde hair. "But they're gone now…" he said resuming their previous conversation "And you have to be strong now to make them proud, alright?"

"I don't wanna make them proud. I hate them…just like they hated me" Ian muttered, a trace of anger lingering in his tone.

"They didn't hate you…" John said a bit lamely.

"They did. I bet they'd just love it if you'd just leave me here and save your own skin. They'd just bloody love it if I died out here…"

"You're not going to die here" John said almost immediately "I won't let that happen alright? I won't let anything happen to you because who are you?"

"Your baby brother" Ian chuckled despite the pain he was in.

"And how much do I love you?" John asked, blinking back a sudden wave of emotions.

"The world, the heavens and beyond" Ian recited the words he'd heard from his brother's lips millions of times.

"And I would never let that happen to someone I love so much. Do you understand?" John asked, looking down at the younger.

"Hm…" Ian let out a deep breath before his conscience began to slip in the comfort of his brother's hold.

John leaned his head back against the tree and briefly closed his eyes as well. And just as he was about to slip into a resting but alert doze-the sound of vicious barking pierced the air.

The mob had sent agents after them, and with scent hounds too. John sighed deeply as he began to quietly gather his brother into his arms and stand.

On the run again.

**Alright guys, that was it. Now I was thinking of making this a short story-I've already got Chapter 2 written up, but depending on whether you guys want to read on or not II'll post it =] **

**Plus I wanted to clarify that the way Ian is in this story comes from a typical case of having the perfect elder sibling and himself being the slightest bit lacking. And then making not too many well thought out decisions to deal with it. And it's basically to emphasize how much John's death affected him. So much that he became the stoic, emotionless and perfect character he is now. Just like his older brother.**

**Oh and if any of you were curious, Infragilis Vinculum does mean The Unbreakable Bond, hence the name of the story =] **

**Reviews are very much loved and appreciated, and for those of you that haven't read Quondum Iterum, if you liked this then you'll absolutely love it. And I would appreciate it so much if you took a minute to take a look at it =]**


	2. Miracle

**Alright guys, since you all wanted this to be a short story, here's your chapter two. This story'll probably be about 5 chapters or so and it'll probably make a later mention in Quondum Iterum =] **

**This chapter was written up pretty late at night and I was a bit out of it so please excuse any errors as well as the fact that it may be a tad vague. **

**Oh and the document manager is being a bit retarded with me so if all of this is in bold then please excuse it. It bothers me just as much as it bother you.**

**Anywho, Enjoy!**

****

At the moment John Rider was not a happy man. As a matter of fact he was quite the opposite.

He was in a bit of a situation, not to mention he was a bit delirious from lack of sleep, and the light flesh wound at his side was stinging from the cold air hitting it. Nevertheless he continued. His unconscious younger brother in a gentle hold in his arms.

From the sounds of the barking, blood hounds were after them. About six or seven of them, John analyzed. They were with owners of course who obviously had well armed weapons. Not to mention Ian reeked of blood so the dogs would have their scent in no time.

So as noiselessly as he could, John dashed through the land, knowing it would be best to keep as much distance as he could manage between himself and those who wanted him dead. And after covering about a mile or so John heard the barking clearer than he had before. They where about 50 feet or so from him, he figured.

Realizing he was being approached fast, he decided he had no better option than to face them and take them out before they took him out. So with that thought, John found a tree larger than the others around it, and placed his unconscious brother at the base of it, making sure he was hidden from plain view. He then made sure Ian's handgun was at his belt, and that he was armed before taking a needle from his pouch and scratching a quick message onto the bark of the tree in Morse code. Making sure his message was clear, he took off in the direction of his enemies, praying to god to keep his brother safe.

John spotted his first enemies after only a minute's searching. He hid behind a nearby tree as he observed the three men, who thankfully didn't have a pooch accompanying him. So as soon as their backs turned towards him, John shot out from behind the tree, and with stealth and speed only an agent of his status could attain, he ran up behind one man, grabbed his head and snapped it to the side. Quickly and instantly breaking his neck. Immediately his two companions turning towards John, lashing out at him in physical hand to hand combat. John fought them off, neutralizing one of the men with a swift blow to the back of the neck. The other man took this opportunity to pull out a gun and empty an entire round directly at John's chest.

John however smirked, a look of triumph came over his face, letting the man know, he was armed against bullets. He in turn whipped out his customized handgun and fired four shots directly at the man's forehead. The man, instantly dead, dropped to the ground. John then looked to the side where he saw another man about 50 or so feet away, with two large dogs. And while the man may have been looking away from John, the dogs immediately turned their heads towards him. Before they could even make the slightest noise to alert their owner, John fired two bullets with absolute killer aim, one aimed for each dog's skull. Luckily for him, the silent bullets made impact right on target, and before the owner of the dogs could turn to face him, John dropped to the ground, lying as flat as he could against the lengthy grass. He quieted his breaths so they were almost undetectable and watched as the man began moving closer to John.

_ 40 feet…_

John vaguely if Ian was still alright, because he knew the mob he was up against wasn't stupid. They wouldn't send just two men after him. There had to be more. John just prayed they weren't near Ian.

_30 feet…_

The thought of his wife suddenly entered John's mind. Yes, her beautiful face suddenly interrupted his morbid thoughts of his brother.

_20 feet…_

And of course with the thought of Helen came the thought of his unborn child. It was only a few weeks now. Less than a month.

_10 feet…_

All the more reason he needed to make this work. No matter what this mission had to succeed. For the three people in the world he loved more than anyone else. His brother, his wife and his child.

_5 feet…and…_

John tilted his gun upward and with a millisecond to aim, he fire straight at the man, the bullet piercing him directly between the eyes. Perfect.

John wasted no time to jump up and head back towards his brother. With his enemies temporarily subsided, he could make a run for his chopper faster now. He jogged back towards the tree he remembered leaving Ian at, but suddenly stopped as he saw someone else there. A man clad in black pointing a handgun at Ian.

Sudden rage flared up inside John as he recognized the man to be one of his enemies' agents. His anger began to drive him as he quickly ran up behind the man and charged him to the ground, knocking the gun out of his hand. He flipped the man onto his back, sat down on his stomach, drew a sub-machine gun from its sheath at his belt and pointed it directly between the man's eyes. Just barely stopping himself from pulling the trigger.

The muscle in John's jaw rippled viciously as a look of hatred came over his victim's features.

"If you ever get near my brother again I swear I won't stop myself" John growled with anger that sounded unfamiliar to his voice.

The man didn't move.

"Get the fuck out of my sight" he spoke, standing up. He kept the gun pointed where it was. The man didn't hesitate to slide back in the wet grass and stand as well. "Go, run for your pathetic life and tell your boss you messed with the wrong agent" John smirked gesturing away from himself with the gun. "Run."

The man took a deep intake of breath and did as he was told. He ran as fast as he could from the enraged agent. And still just before he lost sight of the man, John couldn't help but let a shot ring out towards him. Knowing it wouldn't kill the man, but injure him. Just a little payback for what those bastards did to his brother.

John took a deep breath to calm himself down. He re-sheathed his weapon and knelt down to his brother's side. To which, Ian turned his head to face his brother and cracked open one dulling grey eye. "Back in a few?" he raised a brow, tapping a finger weakly against the Morse coded message above his head.

"I was short on time" John answered quickly.

"Thanks for saving my skin for about the tenth time" Ian said softly.

"Not a problem…how do you feel?" John asked moving closer to examine his brother.

"Probably better than that guy you just scared off" Ian chuckled weakly.

John joined him "Yeah, cause no one messes with my baby brother and gets away with it unharmed." He ruffled Ian's hair fondly. "Now, give me a minute." He said as he peeled off his vest, revealing a slightly damaged bullet proof vest.

*"A bullet proof vest?" Ian muttered incredulously "Why do you have a bullet proof vest, where's my bullet proof vest?!"

John looked down at the thick steel plating on his chest, picked at the corner till it began to peel, and pulled an entire inch off the steel right from the vest. Discarding of the damaged material carelessly. He looked down at the vest once again, this time without its dented outer layer, it looked new and smooth once again.

"I'm your bullet proof vest" John answered quietly. "Now, let's get going, shall we?"

"Mm…" Ian took a deep breath "Are we far?"

"Not really. We only have about two or three miles. Not too far" John said as he pulled his outer vest back on. He then stepped closer to Ian, intending to take the younger into his arms, but flinched as his skin came in contact with his brother's "Oi, you're burning up kiddo" John frowned.

"That explains why I feel like shit…" Ian muttered, closing his eyes again.

"We really need to get you some professional medical attention" John grumbled as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a small syringe "You've got a bit of a fever coming up…that's not too good."

"What's that?" Ian furrowed his brows.

"Liquid Propranolol. It'll keep your system from tensing in reaction to the fever, and it'll eventually ease you into unconsciousness" John explained, injecting the liquid into Ian's arm as he spoke. "Alright" he said once done "Let's go" he tucked the syringe back into his pouch and scooped his brother into his arms. "With any luck we'll get to our chopper before the fever gets too bad…"

"Ow" Ian deadpanned as he rested his head against John's chest.

"Ow indeed" John frowned as he began walking towards their destination.

It was about a half an hour before exhaustion caught up with John and he soon found his mind start to fog the slightest bit. He knew it had been at least 48 hours since he'd last gotten a wink of sleep, and he knew it was taking its toll on him. Not to mention he'd been forced to drug Ian into unconsciousness before the Propranolol eased him into it. The younger had been in a severe amount of pain, and had begun struggling, and John had no choice. He knew the drugs would do anything but help his condition, but John desperately needed Ian to cooperate long enough to get to their chopper, so he had resorted to the drugs. They would eventually do more damage to his system than good and John knew he had to get some insulin in there to counteract the drugs before they did that. Just how exactly to do that though escaped him.

And just when John felt as though he was going to collapse himself, something came into his view through the trees. Something that he definitely thought was too good to actually be there. But upon stepping closer he found…yes it was…it was a house. A small secluded little house all by itself in the middle of the land.

It was a miracle.

Upon seeing the little residence, all the sleep seemed to have escaped John as he dashed towards the place that just may serve as not only his but his brother's savior.

***This dialogue between Ian and John about the bullet proof vest is from a t.v show, I can't exactly remember what it was called but it is from that so credit for that brilliant line goes to said show =]**

**Alright, that was the second one for you =] It's a little show of what John would do for his brother and what he would do to those that tried to harm him. I kind of like over protective aggressive John XD I might even put him in again sometime XD lol I hope you guys enjoyed this one, and I'll have the next chapter up real soon =]**

**Review!!**


	3. The House

**Alright guys, here's the third one for you. I would've had this up days ago but my internet was a little shot so I had to wait a while XD Anywho enough of my ramblings. Enjoy!**

John stepped nearer to the house, his sub-machine gun in his right hand, should there be any trouble. In his arms, Ian gave a feverish groan, burying his face deeper into his brother's chest.

John looked down at the younger's rapidly paling complexion and picked up the pace. With any luck he'd be able to find help and proper medical assistance or even safety here.

He carefully approached the door and knocked with the tip of his boot. At first there was no answer, setting John off muttering something about "Curse the Rider luck", but after a while, the door creaked open the slightest bit "Who are you?" a hoarse voice came from inside.

"My name is John Rider," John spoke cautiously "my brother and I are agents for MI6" he added quickly, noticing the faint details of a shotgun through the door. "We were out here on a mission when my brother was shot and attained some serious injuries, followed by a rising fever. I would greatly appreciate it if you allowed us to stay in your home for a little while so I can care for his injuries properly" John explained, his voice sounded almost pleading.

The door suddenly swung open all the way, revealing a man around his 60's or 70's, John deduced. He had white hair, accompanied by a shaggy white beard. He didn't look very happy to see a stranger at his doorstep; nevertheless he stepped aside from the door.

"Come in" the man said gesturing inside.

"Thank you so much" John smiled, stepping in and as though a silent pact had been made, the man cast his shotgun aside and John tucked his gun back into its holster.

"Alex, who is it?" a female voice spoke from the depths of the house. In a few moment's time an elderly woman, equally in age as the man, if not a few years younger stepped into view. She wore her white hair back in a loose ponytail, alongside her soft features. Her hand went to her mouth as she set eyes on Ian. "Oh dear, who is this?"

"I am John Rider. This is my younger brother, Ian" John answered looking down at Ian's face "I was hoping I could treat him in the safety of your home."

"Well of course, feel free. The guest room is just this way, dear" the woman said as she gestured toward the staircase a foot ahead of her. She began climbing up and John didn't hesitate to follow. He faintly heard Alex's footsteps behind himself.

Once they had reached the second floor, the woman led John down a hallway past two doors. She turned the bronze knob of the third door and held it open for him to enter. John spotted a small bed as he stepped in and placed his brother carefully onto it.

Ian, having felt the loss of his brother's warmth around him, groaned. "John…"

"I'm here, buddy" John reassured the younger "Just give me a minute, I'm gonna help you out, alright?" He then removed the pouch from his belt and laid it out onto the bedside table. He received no reply from the younger and assumed he was simply too tired to respond.

"Is there anything you need, dear?" the woman asked softly "My name is Helen, by the way."

John smiled despite himself "Helen…that's my wife's name."

Helen returned the smile.

"A steel hanger and a glass of room temperature water and a wet cloth would be useful" John said as he unzipped his pouch and pulled out an assortment of syringes as well as his bottle of rubbing alcohol and cotton balls.

Helen simply nodded and left to retrieve the items.

John returned his focus to his brother.

He quickly peeled off Ian's bloodstained vest, and then removed his inner shirt. He dipped a cotton ball in the rubbing alcohol and cleansed a small part on Ian's upper arm. He then picked up on of the smaller syringes. He tested it, overflowing the formula the slightest bit and then inserted the needle carefully into his younger brother's arm.

"Are you trained?" Alex's voice came from the door "Medically?"

John didn't bother to face him as he replied "Yes. As a senior MI6 agent I am required to know how to treat injuries, chronic to temporary, broken bones to damaged organs." He slowly pulled the needle away as all the contents of the syringe emptied. "This however wasn't meant to be such a serious mission explaining my tools or lack of thereof." He set the used item aside and wrapped the spot in a quick layer of gauze.

"What was that?" Alex asked.

"It was a special formula that boosts the level and effect of anti-bodies" John explained "Especially useful since we want to keep Ian's fever to just that. If he were to take into flu or anything in that severity, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to treat it with what little tools I have on me."

"I see…" Alex muttered. At that moment, Helen re-entered the room, a glass of water in one hand, a wet cloth over the top and a steel hanger in the other.

"Here you go, dear" she said as she walked over and set the items on the bedside table. "Anything else?"

"No, that's alright" John shook his head as he drew another item from his pouch. A small plastic ready made insulin bag.

*****He set it aside and picked up the steel hanger which he bent upward till the two ends met, and then bent it over to hook. He then set that aside, picked up the insulin bad, opened it up and carefully poured about ¾ the glass of water into the bag. He took the bent hanger and placed the top hook into the small hole on top of the bag. He then took the hanger (with the bag hanging off of it) and hooked it onto a wall sconce above the bed.

He then attached a stopper to the open end of the bag, inserted a clear plastic tube to it and finally a sharply pointed needle. He carefully set that aside and tightly tied a strip of gauze around Ian's upper arm. Applying pressure to the spot. He then slid the needle into Ian's arm exactly two inches underneath the gauze.

And while he completed the last few steps to creating a makeshift hospital for his younger brother, the couple that stood behind him watched intently. They watched the dedication and determination in those sleep deprived, emotion filled grey eyes as the young man worked.

Finally, when he was finished, he stepped back and watched over the process, making sure he had done every step right. And once he was content that everything was correct, he did one final thing. He took the wet cloth from where he had placed it earlier, and set it gently upon his younger brother's forehead. He ruffled up the dirty blonde hair lovingly before he turned his head to face Helen and Alex, dragging the back of his palm across his forehead to wipe away traces of sweat.

"It's pretty late, and you don't look like you're in any condition to be walking around now, boy" Alex said gruffly "Stay here for the night, we have another…empty room, or if you want to stay with your brother, we'll bring some sheets in to make something on the floor."

"Thank you, but I don't think I'd be able to sleep if I tried" John smiled as best he could "And besides, someone has to watch over him all night" he chuckled dryly, gesturing towards Ian.

"You're such a dear," Helen smiled "Why don't you bring that chair over there near the bed so you can sit, and I'll bring you up something to eat."

"Thank you" John smiled, doing as he was told. Both Helen and Alex backed out of the room, closing the door behind them. He then sat down in the chair and stared blankly at his brother's chest, slowly rising and falling, before he took one of Ian's hands into his own.

He sat like that for a long time before he heard the sound of footsteps coming back towards the room. They however stopped just at the door. John vaguely heard the couple's voices behind the door in a hushed whisper. He decided it wasn't his place to eavesdrop on them, so he simply focused on the feel of Ian's pulse beneath his pinky. But eventually, after a while, the silence pounded in John's ears and he could hear nothing but the whispering of the two behind the door. And of course, his highly trained MI6 ears adjusted themselves to clarify exactly what they were saying. So he closed his eyes…and listened.

"_This doesn't have anything to do with James or Scott" _spoke the voice of Alex.

"_You know you let them in because these two boys, they remind you of __**them**__" _this time it was Helen.

"_**They**__ have nothing to do with this. Those boys just needed help and I let them in"_

"_Alex, you even offered them the boys' room. For god's sake try to treat these two like they mean something to you. Don't make the same mistake with them that you made with our-"_

"_That's enough. Go give the boy his food and come to bed. It's late."_

That was all John heard of the conversation, however his exhausted mind was simply too comfortable in this trance-like state and remained that way until a voice brought him back to reality.

"John, dear?" it was Helen.

John's eyes snapped open and he struggled for a moment to focus on the woman's face. When he did though, he blinked at her "Sorry, dozed off a bit there."

"Of course you dozed off" Helen berated softly as she set the tray off food she was carrying onto the bedside table. "You haven't slept in almost 48 whole hours."

John raised a brow curiously "How did you know? Surely my face doesn't tell that much…?"

"Heart of a mother, dear" Helen smiled.

"I heard you and Alex talking outside the door" John stated softly.

Helen took a deep breath and sat at the edge of the bed close to John. "Yes, we had a little disagreement. Tell me, how much did you hear?"

"About Scott and James and whom I can assume are no longer residing with you considering Alex offered us their room. I can also assume that since you mentioned Alex making some sort of mistake with them, you raised them and from that I can assume those two were your sons. James the older and Scott the younger from the order that Alex mentioned them in."

"That is…" Helen sighed "All correct. I'm not even going to ask how you figured all that out, but yes, it is all true. James was the name of my older son, and Scott, my younger."

"Was?" John furrowed his brows.

"Was" Helen nodded "Alex is not the most emotional or open man in the world, as I'm sure you've already figured out."

John nodded.

"He was the same way years ago with our sons. Not the most affectionate person in the world, and he would often scold Scott for slacking off, not amounting to his brother's perfection…"

John closed his eyes at the familiarity of the story. He reopened them with a deep breath.

"They would have some serious rows sometimes. And sometimes Scott would intentionally go out and do the things he knew his father hated the most. And they always fought. And then one day when Scott was 16"

John shuddered a bit; something told him he wasn't going to like the end of this story.

"After one of their rows, Alex suffered from a mass heart attack. It left him immobile for a long time. It left him unhappy and emotionally scarred. I knew it was wrong of him, but he placed the blame onto Scott. Said that it was his fault they were both unhappy. And that things would be so much better if he just got lost. We all knew he didn't really mean it when he said that-but Scott took it seriously. He did leave that day. He left home and never came back. We haven't heard from him since. Alex says he's probably gone…but I-I don't know" Helen broke off as her eyes glazed over.

And John hated to press on, but he needed to know "And what of James?"

"James was our perfect son" Helen continued "He always was the head of everything and he truly made his father proud-he made all of us proud. He was a soldier, a brilliant one at that. And he had such a bright future, but he and Scott were exceptionally close. They loved one another to no end, and after Scott left home without any traces, any hints or anything as to where he might have gone, it affected James a great deal. The loss of his brother took such an enormous toll on him, and it was almost inevitable to one day have his best friend, a colonel show up at our doorstep to tell us he was gone. He was only 25…"

John's grip on Ian's hand tightened. The similarity to that story as per their own was almost chilling.

And for a second John was so happy that he'd caught his younger brother in the act of leaving home almost three years ago.

"There's nothing to worry about with you though, dear" Helen said, having noticed the movement of John's hand "I'm sure you would never do anything like that. And something tells me you don't have parents to drive you that far either."

"It's not me I'm worried about" John sighed "This one…" he chuckled drying "This one is a whole different story. And yes, you are correct; Ian and I were orphaned two years back."

Helen allowed him time to collect his thoughts.

"Ian's relationship with our parents was somewhat what you described Scott's relationship with Alex to be like" John looked down at his brother's hand in his own "And he has almost gone that far…a few times. I fear for his well being…when I'm not there to stop him from making irate decisions."

"You mentioned being married, does he live alone?" Helen motioned towards Ian.

"No, he's just barely 18" John shook his head "My wife insisted he move in with us. She loves him just as much as I do."

"That's good. I just wish my Scott had it like that. James's fiancé didn't like Scott very much…" Helen trailed off.

"Hm…" John muttered "I'm very grateful as well. I'm not sure what I'd do if they didn't get along, who I'd choose. I love my brother, but I love her too. I have a picture of her…" John trailed off as he reached into his vest and pulled out his wallet. Upon opening it, the first picture that on the right was of Ash, Helen, John, Ian and their parents, Tony and Adrienne Rider. The picture on the left was of John with his arms around his visibly pregnant wife.

He held out the wallet for Helen to see.

"She's beautiful" Helen smiled broadly. "How many months?"

"Less than a month" John smiled "I promised her this would be my last mission before the baby was born."

""Have you thought of names?" Helen asked curiously.

"Well, we were thinking of naming after my parents, Tony if it's a boy and Adrienne if it's a girl" John replied "Helen wanted to wait till the baby is born to see which."

"That's great" Helen smiled "You have such a beautiful life, John. And it's so good to see you making the best of it."

"D'you really think I'm doing alright?" John asked, looking up at her with a bit of a sheepish smile "I'm really nervous about this whole family thing…I mean whether I'll make a good father or not…whether I can keep being the husband Helen needs and if at the same time I can continue to be the brother Ian needs-"

"Honey, look at yourself" Helen cut him off "You haven't slept in days and yet while you are perfectly capable of doing so now, you are sitting next to your younger brother, praying for his safety. You promised your wife to set aside your job to be there with her while your child is born and if you can care that much for those two then I'm sure you will naturally be the perfect father to your child."

"Thanks" John smiled "You know if the baby is a girl I think I'll name her Helen now. Just for you."

Helen laughed.

A comfortable silence came over the two, only interrupted minutes later when Alex stepped into the room with a whole bunch of quilts and blankets, demanding why John hadn't gone to sleep yet.

"Look at you, boy, you're going to kill yourself staying up like this. Go to sleep, rest" he commanded, placing the items in his arms at Ian's feet. "Helen, come, stop bothering him."

John opened his mouth to protest of how Helen wasn't bothering him one bit, but Helen herself put up her palm the slightest bit to stop him. So he simply settled for a "Yes, sir."

"Alex…just call me Alex" Alex corrected.

John nodded.

"You go on, I'll be to bed in a minute" Helen said softly.

Alex took a deep breath, looked once to each person in the room and left.

"You really remind him of our James" Helen smiled turning back to John "It's why he's warmed up to you so fast-well as much as Alex can warm up."

"I really appreciate it" John replied "It's been a while since someone's told me I'm going to kill myself if I don't go to bed."

Helen chuckled. She stood up and headed for the door "Well, I best better go before he comes back."

"Of course" John nodded.

"Go to bed" she said despite knowing better.

And despite knowing he would be up all night at his brother's side, John nodded.

***This part of the story was based on a part from the incredible movie Taken. So just wanted to give that bit of credit to the movie =]**

**Well, how'd you like it? This chapter was based very loosely on the part of X-Men Origins Wolverine, and for those of you who have seen the movie I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.**

**But anyway, I just uploaded two other stories a few minutes ago so for those of you who like reading about Ian, one of the stories is called Angels On The Moon and it's a song-fic about Ian. And the other is called In Time and it's a little drabble about Ian's life =]**

**Review!!**


	4. Bullets

**Alright guys, here's the next one. It's super long and the ending is killer so go on and enjoy!!**

John awoke the next morning to the blinding sunlight hitting him.

He reluctantly blinked his eyes open and saw Alex throwing the curtains open "Rise and shine, boy. It's good to see you ate something" he gestured to the empty tray on the beside table "But Helen's got breakfast downstairs, you best better eat up and take a shower. You reek of blood." He paused, and then turned to look at Ian, whose hand was in one of John's. Alex suddenly realized that was how John had fallen asleep; with his brother's hand in his.

"How is he?" Alex asked in a much softer voice.

"He's doing better. His temperature has dropped since last night, which is good" John answered looking p at the older man "He should be perfectly fine in no time, save a bit of a limp from that bullet wound in his left leg…"

"You really care about him…don't you?" Alex asked.

"My brother is my life" John smiled bringing Ian's hand up to the place on his chest that housed his heart.

Alex gave a rough chuckle and headed out of the room "Hurry up or you'll miss breakfast" he called back. "Of course knowing Helen who has a soft spot for you, you'll get food if you show up tomorrow night!" John heard the voice of the old man shouting from the stairs.

He smiled to himself and looked to Ian's face-which was thankfully gaining back some color. "I'll be back in a while, buddy. Once you're up I'm shoving food down your throat whether you like it or not" John told the other. "Thank the heavens Helen forced you to eat something before we left or this would be your seventy second hour without any food. Yes I kept track. I always keep track." John blinked back a sudden wave of heat from his eyes. "Take care, kiddo. Keep fighting" he muttered, ruffling his brother's hair fondly and heading out of the room.

As John entered the small kitchen, he saw Alex already at the table, tending to his food, and Helen shoveling an egg sunny side up onto a plate that already contained a piece of toast and a couple of slices of bacon.

"Here you go, dear" Helen said pushing the plate towards John as he pulled up a chair and sat at the table.

"Thank you" John smiled up at her; it'd been a while since he'd had a proper meal or anything of that sort "Aren't you going to eat?"

"She's already eaten. Wakes up at 6 in the morning she does, crazy woman" Alex shook his head.

"Don't worry, it's all women" John chuckled "My wife will wake up at the most ungodly hours of the morning and insist I wake up as well. She claims it helps the soul or something like that. I say the only thing that helps a man's soul that early in the morning is food, sleep and erm…other things we won't mention at the table, right Alex?"

The older man immediately broke into laughter "Right ya are, son-" Alex caught himself as the last word slipped out of his mouth. His laughter died out and a slightly awkward silence came over the kitchen. And for a long time the only sound that could be heard was that of forks scraping against plates.

"So, dear" Helen broke the silence after a while "How is Ian doing?"

"Better, thank god. Considering his condition has gotten better, the drugs have probably cleared his system completely, bringing him out of any potential danger from those" John rambled more to himself than to Helen "Now hopefully his fever will stay down…"

Helen decided to ignore the bit about the drugs, but Alex frowned disapprovingly "Drugs?"

"On the way here I was forced to inject him with several medicated drugs to keep him quiet and relaxed. After a bullet to the shoulder, a bullet to the leg and a fever I imagine he was in quite a bit of pain, but with blood hounds and trained spies after us I really needed him unconscious for us to get to safety" John explained.

"I see. Where are ya headed to anyways?" Alex asked, staring down at the food he was eating.

"MI6 has a chopper waiting for us a few miles out from here. It's supposed to fly us back to base…that is if we can reach it one piece…" John muttered.

"You will" Alex muttered under his breath. "I know you will" John wasn't sure whether Alex had meant to say that out loud, so he didn't bother to comment.

After breakfast, Alex had insisted that John take a shower, then handed him some of James's old clothes, and a towel and lead him to the bathroom. John stepped into the dimly lit bathroom and set James's clothes aside. He then slowly undressed, the cold air uneasily striking his warm skin. He stepped into the bathtub, his feet tingling from the spiking cold of the bathtub floor. He turned the slightly rusted knobs on the wall and turned the show on. At first only cold water splayed onto him, and whereas a normal man would have recoiled, John remained perfectly still, almost as though he had expected it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, droplets of water filling up his nostrils. And in a second's time the warm water joined.

And as the water ran down his body, washing off the stains of Ian's blood littered across his arms and chest, John thought. He was finally allowed time with his thoughts and he decided to take advantage of it. So he closed his eyes and lost himself in his mind.

Helen, he thought about. His mind strayed to the image of his beautiful wife. He thought of the child. He and Helen had talked about how things would work out with the baby. Who to make the godfather, who custody would go to, should anything happen to them. Things like that. John wanted Ash to be the godfather without a second thought. And he could tell by the look in her eyes, that even though Helen had agreed, she wasn't as sure about it as he was. She wanted her child's future to be in Ian's hands should anything happen to them. She didn't need to say that for John to know. She wasn't the only one that trusted Ian that much. But he trusted Ash as well, after all Ash was like a brother to him…

But Ian was his brother.

John wasn't sure how long he'd stood there, just thinking. But after a while his keen ears picked up the sound of a voice. A voice outside in one of the other rooms. A voice he would recognize, even through the pounding of the water around his ears. Ian.

His heart suddenly skipped a beat at the thought of Ian being awake. Though he was sure Helen would assure Ian of where he was and that things were alright, John found the unbearable need to see the younger for himself. Knowing he would no longer be able to keep himself in the shower, he abruptly stopped the water, stepped out of the tub, dried himself and quickly got dressed.

John stepped out of the bathroom, buttoning the shirt that was incidentally the perfect size for him. He quickly strode into the guest room and found Helen seated on the bed next to Ian, the younger smiling broadly. It was a smile John hadn't seen on his brother's face for years. And the second he stepped through the door, Ian's smile widened even more "John…" he whispered.

"Hey kiddo" Just seeing his brother smile like that made a smile appear on his own face "Feeling better?"

Ian nodded.

"Good, let's get that out of your arm then" John's eyes moved towards the needle still in his arm. Ian's eyes followed the needle up to its source. "Y-you did that?"

"Of course he did that!" Helen said as John moved towards his brother. "He came in here with you in his arms, and the first thing he did was put you down and set that up for you!"

John chuckled modestly. He tapped the pipe carefully before removing the needle slowly from his brother's arm.

"And he didn't sleep a wink till he passed out from exhaustion" Helen glared playfully at John.

"How could I?" John muttered so quietly the other two barely caught it.

"Thanks" Ian smiled at his brother.

"Anytime buddy, anytime" John returned the smile as he wrapped a bit of gauze over the spot the needle was mere seconds ago.

At that moment, Alex stepped into the room, but as soon as he set eyes on Ian, he froze. "Good god…" he mumbled, staring at the teen.

"I know" Helen smiled "He looks just like him, doesn't he?"

"Incredibly" Alex agreed.

"Like who?" Ian tilted his head.

Alex opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it.

"Scott" Helen answered. "This by the way is my husband, Ian. Alex Woodson."

"Nice to meet you, Alex" Ian smiled. "Your younger son…" he stated returning to the topic.

"You told him?" Alex asked gruffly.

"We've been talking" Helen said not exactly revealing anything.

"But that's not important now" Alex said quickly "You probably haven't eaten in days…what did he say your name was?" he thought for a minute "Ah yes, Ian. Come Ian, we'll get you something to eat downstairs."

"Think you can walk?" John asked as he drew to his full height and looked down at Ian.

"I might as well. We won't be getting anywhere if I can't walk straight" Ian sighed. He made a slow attempt to stand. He stumbled once or twice (when John jumped forward to catch him) before he got the hang of it and followed Alex (with John trailing 'over protectively' as Ian liked to say, behind) downstairs.

Helen followed as well and as she began fixing something up for the younger, Alex pulled John aside. "Come with me, I want to show you something" he said and began leading John towards the back end of the house. They eventually came to a small door which Alex snapped open. Looking through it, John saw a long staircase leading downward, presumably the basement.

"After you" Alex gestured.

John took the invite and began heading down the stairs. Once he reached the bottom, he took a moment to look around the small basement. It was dimly lit, the overhead lamp casting a golden glow over the entire area. The grey walls could barely be seen as most of them were covered with overstuffed bookshelves. In the center of the room was a rectangular wooden table. There was a dusty coffee mug on the table that read #1 DAD. John smiled. He vaguely remembered buying one of those for his own father in his youth. Next to the mug were a few fancy looking stationary items, all with the same initials carved into them: J.W.

"Come, look here" Alex said as he stepped ahead of John and walked in front of the table. John joined him and looked up to where the older man was looking. It was the one spot that wasn't covered by a bookshelf. On the wall hung a portrait picture of a young man. He had short hair that was so dirty blond it was almost brown, dark grey eyes, light skin and a well sculpted jaw. John assumed this was James Woodson. What stood out the most about the picture though was not the man's bold features, but his camouflage uniform. The uniform of a soldier, with dozens of accommodations pinned to the right side of his chest. It was a true military uniform; the uniform John remembered wearing several times himself during MI6 training. He was lucky he was able to pull Ian out of military training for MI6 almost two years earlier than his training sentence. John knew the horrors of the field and there was no way in hell he was going to let his 16 year old brother experience all that like his parents were foolish to let him. John knew better than anyone, it really messed up a man. Sure he'd ended up training Ian on his own but hell was it worth saving his brother from witnessing things that plagued his nightmares to this day. He guessed it softened Ian a bit, but still…

John looked beneath the framed picture and hanging from the wall was a gun. A beautifully carved and customized handgun. The sleek black metal was practically sparkling; the small wolf carved onto the side of the gun glittered even under the dim lighting. John stared hard at the weapon. It was truly a work of art.

He tore his eyes from the gun and looked to the picture beneath it. It was of James and a much younger looking Alex. James had his arm around his father's shoulder and Alex was smiling with his heart. It was something that looked unrealistic even as John looked at it. But at the same time it was an amazing thing. A beautiful moment caught in a picture. Between a father and…and only one of his sons.

"I don't suppose you have anything like this for Scott in the attic?" John's sarcastic remark was counteracted by his serious tone.

"Helen told you about the boys didn't she?" Alex asked rhetorically.

Nevertheless John nodded.

"Scott didn't leave me anything to honor him with" Alex answered the previous question.

"The fact that he left you is something itself" John replied.

"He didn't care about me nearly as much as I cared about him" Alex said coldly, but with the next sentence his voice shook the slightest bit "Else he wouldn't have run off, the blasted boy…"

"If your son was nearly as much like my brother as Helen told me, then I can safely tell you that Scott did love you…very much. He knew you loved him as well. And even though everyone around him told him you did, he went far too long without hearing it himself. Until he got tired of waiting…" John spoke in a low voice.

"That gun over there" Alex steered the conversation back towards James; he tried hard to make his faltering voice sound normal. "It was James's favorite gun. He carried it with him everywhere he went, whether he was on the field or eating at home. It was a designer item. He spent loads on it, and in the end it was his best friend that dropped by and gave it to me. Said he'd like someone worth the respect and bravery to carry it on." Alex stepped forward and carefully un-mounted the weapon from the wall. He stared at it in his hands for a moment before he turned back to John and held it out to him. "Here, I want you to have it."

"I-me? Why me?" John's eyes widened a great deal "I am honored, Alex but you've only met me a few hours ago, you don't even know what kind of person I am, whether I'll handle such a prized possession with care or not-you have no idea!"

"Just having heard you say that, I know you're worth it" Alex sighed "You are more like my James than you know. Never in my life have I seen someone so utterly devoted to their sibling since James. And having seen you like that-having seen the way your brother reacts to you, the worship and respect in his eyes when he looks at you is unbelievable. It was like looking at my very own two boys again. And the way you instantly refused to take this item in fear of being unable to take care of what I cared deeply about-it just goes to show that you are nothing but an utterly respectable, brave, kind and modest man. Just the kind of person James would want to have this ever prized possession of his" Alex nodded "Just because he's gone doesn't mean his legacy should be."

"I-thank you, Alex" John swallowed "You don't know how honored I am to be holding the weapon of a comrade."

Alex took the hint, realizing John too was once a soldier. "You deserve it."

"Thank you, I promise I will treat it well, and keep his legacy alive. I swear it" John said adamantly, brining four fingers to his forehead as he spoke the last few words. A soldier's promise.

Alex nodded with a smile.

Suddenly a distant howl sounded from outside.

John immediately froze. "Shit…"

"What is it?" Alex asked.

The howling sounded once more, this time more than one at the same time. "They've tracked us, they've got Ian's scent dead on" John rambled, tucking James's gun safely into his pocket. "Shit! And I don't even have my protective gear on!" he growled. "We've got to get out of here" he said turning back to Alex, then making a dash for the stairs. "Come on!"

Startled, Alex followed John; he knew better.

As soon as John was out of the basement, he shot into the living room, where he almost collided with his younger brother.

"The dogs-"

"I know, I heard them too" Ian cut the older off. "They've got my scent, I'm the one they're after-"

"No!" John shouted at his brother "You will do no such thing. I told you once, either we get out of this together or we don't get out at all but I absolutely refuse to drag Alex and Helen into this."

"We have to go…" Ian muttered their last option.

"Exactly, we have to run for it. As far from here as possible, understand?" John said quickly.

Ian nodded "And your gear?"

"No time" John shook his head.

"Ian, what's wrong?" Helen asked as she stepped in front of the two brothers. Alex walked up next to his wife, looking in the same direction.

"The men that were after me and Ian, they're here" John said quickly "Those are scent dogs, and they've got the smell of Ian's blood all over."

"Oh, dear…that's not good" Helen frowned.

"We're not getting you two involved in our blood war, you've helped us far too much, so John and I are going to have to make a run for it as fast as we can, hopefully they'll leave you two alone" Ian explained.

"You are barely in any condition to be walking, far from running, young man" Alex said sternly.

"Christ, I wish you were my father" Ian said quickly "My dad would have said something like, what won't kill you will make you stronger, don't drag your brother down boy." He frowned at the bitter memory.

Something in Alex's expression changed, but before he could say anything, John spoke "You picked a beautiful time to tell the tales of dad, Ian."

"Didn't I?" Ian muttered.

"Anyway, no time to waste on that, come on, let's go" John said putting a hand on Ian's shoulder.

"How are you going to leave?" Alex raised a brow.

"Out back" John answered quickly. "Listen Alex, thank you so much for everything, I really appreciate it so much. You too Helen."

"Not a problem dear" Helen smiled.

John returned the smile before he began to take off towards the back, however he stopped as the front door was suddenly kicked in and two agents burst into the room, four dogs at hand.

And as soon as they did, John's thoughts naturally went to his brother; more specifically his brother's well being. So he immediately turned to Ian, missing completely the sight of one of the agents pulling out a gun and aiming it straight for him.

And it was only when the sound of the bullet being fired, did John turn and notice. But instead of seeing a bullet heading straight for his skull, he saw the one thing that made his breath stop, his head pound and his heart skip about a dozen beats.

John saw Alex throw himself right between him and the bullet.

**CLIFF HANGERRRR!!! Oh noes! XD **

**Not to worry I'm practically done with the next chapter =] As you've probably noticed, I'm uploading this much faster than Quondum Iterum, and that's because Quondum Iterum has a much more...how to say...elaborate and drawn out story plot. So it takes a bit longer to write. But hopefully I'll have the next one done in a bit =]**

**Oh and for Padawan-Bubbly, who I know will end up reading this little memo eventually, I'm almost done with Carry On My Wayward Son Chapter 2! Yay!! XD**

**Review!!**


	5. Talk

**Alright guys, here's the next one. It's super sad and you'll learn a little more about Ian and his background =] I tried to make it as believable as possible so yeah... =]**

**Enjoy!!**

As the bullet made contact with Alex's chest, John heard screaming, heart broken screaming. And it wasn't until he heard his throat become hoarse did he realize it was himself.

And as Alex's body crumpled to the ground, a sudden anger started bubbling inside of John. Anger, comparing to that which he had felt when he saw that agent trying to shoot Ian, rose inside of him. And as the blind rage took him over, without even thinking, John whipped out James's gun and emptied 12 shots. Four on each of the agents and two on the dogs. He watched as the men fell, instantly dead.

Then watched as Ian and Helen rushed over to the body at his feet, crouching in front of it. And then collapsed on his knees as well.

He gathered Alex in his arms and looked down at his blood stained face. "Hey, hang in there alright…we'll get you some medical attention…"

"Bullshit" Alex chuckled hoarsely "I'm done for."

"Don't say-"

"Shut up and let me finish my dramatic goodbye speech before I die, god dammit" Alex gave John a mock irritated look that successfully shut him up. "Listen, take care of the crazy gossiping old lady for me, will you?" he said looking over to Helen. And upon seeing her tear filled eyes, he shook his head and smiled at her. The same smile John saw in that picture with James.

It made even Helen smile a little through her tears.

"And you" he looked at Ian "Be good. I can just tell you're a rebel. You look it."

Ian gave a dry laugh "Heh, I get that a lot."

"Right…" Alex coughed. "I'm glad you came here" he looked up to John "A few more days and I would have adopted you two. Especially you young man" he pointed weakly to Ian "You need a father…as much as I need a son."

"Yeah…" Ian whispered, unable to look Alex in the eyes.

"I needed this…" Alex looked back up to John "Thank _you_ for helping me, James, thank you my son…"

John closed his eyes tight. He wasn't sure if Alex had meant to call him James, or if he had simply mistaken the name. Either way, his words were a bit too much for him to take. It was like the goodbye he never got to have with his own father. But when John re-opened his eyes, he found Alex's closed.

"Alex?" he called softly. "Hey, Alex, come on…"

No reply.

"Alex?" John's voice wavered the slightest bit. "Alex…come on…"

"John…" Ian said softly, managing to shake his head.

A chill suddenly ran up John's spine, reality hitting him like a thousand bricks. He held the limp body in his arms closer, newfound blood staining his clothes-James's clothes.

He looked up and saw Ian, holding a weeping Helen, whispering something or other into her ear. He looked back to Alex's oddly relaxed face and decided what he needed to do. He stood up, placing Alex's body gently in front of him.

Ian and Helen's eyes followed him. Ian slowly released the elder and stood up as well. But John simply strode away from him, heading towards the broken down door.

"Where are you going?" Ian called after him.

"To find our chopper" John replied simply "I'll bring them over here, we'll bring Helen back with us, give Alex a proper funeral and get you proper medical attention."

Ian nodded slowly.

"Here" John said pulling his sub-machine gun out from his boot and throwing it over to Ian, who caught it perfectly.

"And you?" Ian asked pulling an identical weapon from his boot.

"…I've got something" was all John said almost coldly before he walked out the door.

Ian turned around and headed back to Helen. He tucked the guns into his belt before sitting down cross legged in front of her, purposely blocking her view of Alex's body. Helen tried to look around him but he stopped her "Don't look. Talk to me. My brother told me once that talking helps to keep your mind off the pain. Of course that was when I had a bullet in my shoulder, but I'm sure it applies for mental pain as well…"

"Ian, how old are you?" Helen asked furrowing her brows.

"18, though I feel about a million years older, why?" Ian replied.

"It's just that, here you are, protecting me with two dangerous weapons which I'm assuming you are fully trained in using and have used to kill before" Helen said shaking her head "I mean…normal teenagers your age…they learn to drive, test out a gun, go drinking for the first time…go wild…"

"I learned to drive when I was 16, dad made sure I knew how to shoot a gun by the time I was 14-it was a part of the whole 'let's train Ian for MI6 and pass it off as regular hobbies and activities because he's the son we're going to leave completely unaware of the fact that his entire family is a part of it until he's 16 years old and forced to learn about it due to the untimely death of his parents' act" Ian took a breath "John and I have been going out for drinks for ages, and I have been going a bit wild with the entire killing spree deal. Believe me, it's not as fun as it looks" Ian said bitterly.

"You've grown up too fast" Helen stated.

Ian snorted "You're telling me?"

The two fell into a comfortable silence. But after a while, Ian blankly stated "My parent's died two years back…"

"I know…John told me" Helen nodded softly.

"John's all I have really" Ian sighed "Dad has two brothers. He's got a half brother-Terry" he choked a bit on the name "he's…well…he's…dad's full brother too, but uncle Ryan doesn't visit much. Last time I saw him was at Mum and Dad's memorial service…he's just bummed granddad left all the inheritance to Dad and what not…"

"And what about _your_ father?"

"Dad left everything to John. Except a little pocket watch. He left that to me" Ian said fingering something in his pocket "I keep it with me all the time…it's kind of a habit now..." After a bit of thinking he pulled out the small dulling gold pocket watch, running his thumb over the engraved writing over the top: _Infragilis Vinculum_

"He left everything else to John. The car, the house, 2.5 million pounds in the bank, all to him" Ian said bitterly.

"Well I'm sure John, having a family, it all a little more, don't you think?" Helen replied.

"It's not the things he left. He could have left everything to a drunk for all I care" Ian growled "It's the fact that he left everything to John. And then left me this little thing-the fact that he left me clinging desperately to the last bit of his memory-this little thing-" Ian broke off as a small tremor filled him up and he bit his lip both in anger and sadness.

"_Infragilis Vinculum_, The Unbreakable Bond" Helen murmured "The unbreakable bond of a father and a son…"

"Unbreakable Bond my ass" Ian growled angrily "I remember-" Ian's voice shook again "I remember the exact last words he said to me. He said 'Ian, don't make me have to hear from John. If I hear you did the smallest thing wrong I'm signing you up. I've had enough" he paused as his voice cracked "The last thing my dad ever said to me. I've had enough."

"What was he going to sign you up for?" Helen asked curiously.

"Military camp."

Helen's mouth fell open the smallest bit.

"That's how my dad ended it. With a bloody fucking threat" Ian pulled his vest on tighter and curled his legs close to his body.

"Well, Alex ended it by telling Scott he wasn't our son anymore" Helen said quietly.

Ian remained silent for a moment "I suddenly appreciate my dad a little more now…I mean his threats were enough to crush me. If he said something like that to me…god knows what I'd do…"

"Run away probably. That's what Scott did" Helen stated.

"I really miss my dad sometimes…" Ian admitted "I hated that man and yet after he was gone…it wasn't the same…"

"I'm sure that's how Scott feels today too. Wherever he is…"

"My best friend Tobey is the pilot of our chopper" Ian stated randomly "He's the one that flew me and John here. He's been waiting for us in our chopper since, too. He's a great guy. I've known him since…forever. He's my dad's best friend's son so…"

"Tobey's got everything" Ian sighed "He's my age, and the only reason he's in MI6 is because he wants to be. He has to be the only person in MI6 that is there because he wants to be, and not because he was left with no other option. His dad, Thomas Evans is an agent too. They work together all the time, father and son. They get along very well. People mistake them for brothers sometimes" Ian gave an emotionless chuckle "Tommy's a great guy too. He's our godfather, me and John. He helped us a lot after mum and dad died. He's just such a good person…"

"And Tobey?"

"Tobey's amazing too. He's practically my brother now and he stays over every other day. John and Helen love having him over. I stay over at the Evans mansion all the time too. And Tobey sees the look in my eyes when Tom gives him a hug or laughs with him about an inside joke. I think that's why Tom and Alaina-that's Tobey's mum-treat me like their own son. It really makes me happy…"

"That's good"

"You'll see Tobey when John brings the chopper over. I think you'll like him. He can make anyone laugh, even at the worst of times, trust me, you'll see what I mean."

"I'm sure I will" Helen smiled a little.

Silence over came the two once again. And just like the previous times Ian broke it "You remind me of my mum…a lot"

"John told me something similar before" Helen said.

"My mum was very beautiful" Ian sighed "I loved her so much. She was always there for me…except for one thing…whenever dad used to say something she'd immediately side with him. Never ask how I felt about it-never even think about how I felt…" Ian looked away "But I guess that's all parents."

"And we never seem to realize it before it's too late" Helen nodded "But you children are no walk in the park either."

"We do that on purpose. We crave attention. And when all else fails we get ourselves in trouble-nothing works better because for some reason you parents look more at our mistakes than at our accomplishments…"

"Pride, dear, pride. We all have it and hate to se it aside" Helen said softly.

"Mum always used to say Dad and I were very much alike" Ian said with the same blank tone "Said I looked just like him too when he was my age. She told me that we were alike personality wise as well. That we both had a pride the size of the sun and that we were both a little socially awkward and quiet. And…that we both loved each other beyond word's extent. She said Dad was waiting for me to say it, and I was waiting for him to say it. And in the end neither of us said it…"

"Lack of communication" Helen shook her head "It's the problem everywhere with everyone. If people would just set their pride aside and talk. Just talk…"

"Everything would be alright" Ian finished in a whisper, his eyes a glazed and watery.

Suddenly the unmistakable whirring of a chopper sounded in the distance. Ian slowly stood up, pulling his two guns out of his belt.

"It's John isn't it?" Helen asked furrowing her brows.

"You never know…" Ian muttered as he reloaded both guns and headed for the door. He faintly heard footsteps pounding the grass outside and as if having a second thought, he turned the safety on, on both of his guns. And as the footsteps grew closer and closer, he pointed the guns directly at the door, so if god forbid it was unwanted company he would be able to take them out instantly.

But as the footsteps came to a halt and a figure came into view, Ian saw the brown haired blue eyed form of Tobey Evans. And thank the heavens for the safety he didn't blow his best friend's brains out. Ian's shoulders immediately slacked and he lowered the guns "Holy shit, Tob. I almost fucking killed you and got it over with there" he muttered before tucking the guns into his belt and pulling his friend into an embrace. After all that'd happened he decided he relay needed it. And Tobey decided not to interrupt or ask. Just help.

Once Ian released him, Tobey gave him a concerned look "Alright?"

"Yeah…kinda" Ian replied.

"Good" and with that Tobey took a step back, looked outside and yelled "Clear!"

Less than a second passed before about a dozen agents ran in, some securing the area, other dealing with the bloodied bodies of those that John shot dead. Following them were two more agents with a large white stretcher and finally John came in after them.

He shot Ian a glance before going straight to Helen. He spoke a few words to her-Ian couldn't hear what exactly-then helped her stand, and with and arm around her, walked her over to where Ian and Tobey stood.

"Would you mind escorting her back to the chopper?" John requested though his tone said it was more of an order than a request.

"Of course not" Tobey nodded and as John removed his arm, Tobey replaced it.

"This Tobey" Ian said pointing to his best friend. "Tobey, Helen."

"John's told me all about you" Tobey smiled at her, knowing she needed nothing more than a little bit of light through what John told him had just happened.

"And Ian's told me all about _you_" Helen tried to reply with her own smile.

"I feel honored" Tobey glanced at his friend before turning back to Helen "Let's get back to the chopper and I'll tell you all about these crazy people I call god-brothers."

Helen nodded and together she and Tobey left the house.

"I told you Tob. was the perfect person to bring along" Ian looked up at John.

"And I agreed, which is why he's here" John replied "Now come with me, we'll run a check through the house, Helen told me to grab anything that looked important; she didn't want to go through the house herself. And we have to...collect a few things from the basement."

"Yes, sir" Ian nodded following his brother out of the living room, forcing himself to keep his eyes off the men lifting Alex's body onto the stretcher.

**Well, I hope you guys liked that, I really enjoyed writing it. But you guys know me, I'm a sucker for mush XD**

**Anywho this really is one of my favorite chapters and I would love to see a few detailed reviews =]**

**Love and Review!!**


	6. Disagreements

**Right, here's the next one guys. It's a little intense and you'll get to see a little conflict between John and Ian. Enjoy!!**

The flight back was a long one full of nothing but a thick silence. Every once in a while John would ask Ian or Helen if they were alright or Tobey would inform John their stats or how far they'd gotten and that was about it. Other than that everyone would be left to their own thoughts. Ian found himself sleeping in the passenger seat more than half the trip and John found himself staring out the window for the entire trip. Both brothers tired and weary from their ordeals.

They'd gone on like that for a long time before one of Tobey's wounds (from having to guard the chopper) acted up. They'd agreed to stop for a bit and while the medics in the back checked him, John and Ian would get some fresh air. They'd invited Helen as well, but she'd declined, saying she'd prefer to keep Tobey company while he got fixed up.

So after Tobey had landed them in a clearing, John and Ian decided to take a slow walk away from the chopper.

Though as they walked, Ian noticed his brother staring up into the distance absentmindedly.

"John?"

The older didn't respond.

"John!"

John suddenly jerked back into reality and turned to face his brother "Yes?"

"You completely zoned out there, what's wrong?"

"Nothing I-I just can't stop thinking about Alex I mean I can't believe he's actually gone…" John said slowly "It feels like days ago that I first showed up at his and Helen's doorstep!"

Ian didn't respond, he simply listened.

"And goddammit if I hadn't done that, Alex-Alex would have been alive right now!" John yelled angrily. "I feel terrible! I mean it's not like Helen's suffered enough already, now I have to go on and get her husband killed!"

Ian remained silent.

"What?" John looked down at him "You're not going to offer any comforting advice? No 'it's not your fault' or 'it's no use in blaming yourself for what you couldn't control'?"

"Are you going to listen?" Ian raised a brow at him.

"…I guess not" John muttered looking down at his feet. "You've lived with me for way too long."

"Yes, 18 years is quite a while, and let me tell you 18 years of John Rider is work!" Ian stated.

John snorted "You're talking, Mr. I'm-the-biggest-bloody-rebel-in-the-world?"

"Better a rebel than a stiff" Ian crossed his arms.

"Very funny" John narrowed his eyes.

"It is!"

And just as John was about to reply, he felt his phone vibrate. He quickly felt around for it before reaching into one of the pouches on his belt and pulling it out. He tapped a few buttons on the touch-screen.

"There's signal out here?" Ian muttered.

"Apparently" John shrugged before pressing the device to his ear. "Hello?"

Ian frowned as he heard the voice on the other end: "Hey! John, it's me, Ash."

John's face visibly lit up, deepening his brother's look of disproval. "Hey! Damn, is it good to hear from you, Ash. What's up?"

"Just checking in, I got a report that Ian was injured severely-is he alright?"

Ian turned away as John looked at him. "Yeah he's alright now."

"I also heard that there was a death some four hours back of an Alex Woodson…"

"…Yes."

"Alright, we looked up his file and he had a will that we'll be bringing out in a while. You're bringing his wife with you right?"

"Yes."

"Good"

"Hey listen…I need you to find someone for me"

"Alright, who?"

"I'll send you what I know later, but I need this person found at all costs alright?"

"Got it. Besides that, anything else you know about Alex Woodson?"

"No" John replied stiffly.

"Alright, well you sound like you're in no mood to talk about it so I'll just leave you alone there."

"You know me so well."

"Yes, well, that tends to happen when you're best friends"

John chuckled-Ian smirked.

"Hey, Ash, do me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Check up on Helen for me, alright? You know just make sure she and the baby are doing alright."

"Sure! I was just going to head over there to check up on them myself."

"I love how you say 'they'"

"Yes, Helen and your daughter."

"It's going to be a boy, Ash"

"No! It's going to be a girl"

"We've gone through this a million times, man. I am going to have a son if it's the last thing I do!"

"Sexist"

"Masochist"

"You know this would have just been settled if you would check!"

"Nope, Helen wants to wait till the baby is born"

"Which will be in less than a month and when it's a girl I am going to laugh"

"No, I'm going to laugh because it'll be a boy!"

"Alright, alright, whatever you say-but it will be a girl"

"Will not"

"Will too"

"Will not"

"Will too"

"Will not"

"Will too-"

"John" Ian said, unable to bear it any longer.

"Will not"

"Will too"

"John!" Ian yelled.

John finally looked down at his brother.

"I think I'm bleeding" Ian said platonically pointing to his leg.

"Alright, Ash I would love to go on about this all day but I have to run"

"Yeah sure. Girl-Bye." There was a click signaling the end of the call. John laughed as he put his phone away and turned to Ian. "Alright, what's wrong?"

"Nothing" Ian growled.

"Then why'd you-"

"Because I don't appreciate _him_ ruining our time together!" Ian yelled.

"Oh come on, Ian" John groaned "We've been over this a thousand times-"

"And yet somehow you never seem to get it!"

"Ian, he doesn't mean you or me any harm-as a matter of fact he treats you like his own younger brother. I don't understand why you've got this thing against him!"

"Because he's not a good person John!"

"How can you tell!?"

"I feel it-inside!"

"He's my best friend Ian-"

"Yeah, I know; you spend more than half your life with him!"

"I give you a considerable about of my time as well"

"Why don't you go home and ask Helen how many times I've had this conversation with _her_. How many times I've told her you continually neglect me to spend infinite amounts of time with Ash!"

"I-"

"I mean it's not even that! You can give him all the bloody time in the world but the fact that you tell him everything-you even tell him things I don't find out till much later-that is what bothers me!" Ian screamed looking John dead in the eyes "I don't trust him, and neither should you!" he took a deep ragged breath "And in our world, trust isn't 'Oh shit he's gonna steal my lawnmower' in our world trust is fucking 'oh shit he might steal my fucking life'! And god forbid you tell him something you shouldn't…" Ian trailed off, unable to say the rest.

John turned away from his brother. He ran a hand through his hairs in a frustrated manner. "I'm not sure which one of you to trust anymore."

Ian's jaw fell open the slightest bit "You _don't_ trust me? I'm your brother-"

"And Ash is my closest friend. I trust what he tells me."

"So he's been telling you, you can't trust me?" Ian said in disbelief.

"You don't need to know what he's been telling me."

"I can't believe you!" Ian shouted at his brother's back "I can't believe you're doing this! I am your _brother_!"

"Dad's brother bombed his car, you know!" John shouted, turning back to face Ian, rage now burning in his features "Dad's own god damned brother set a bomb in his car and killed not only him but mum too!"

"That-that was his half brother…" Ian trailed off, his voice a great deal softer "But I-I'm your flesh and blood…I could never do that to you…" a look of helplessness suddenly came of his face. He couldn't honestly be…dare he say it…loosing his brother? "U-uncle Ryan is dad's biological brother and even though he didn't like dad very much, he did come to the memorial service, right? He did fly in to see you when you were in that coma, right?"

John sighed "Ryan turned our world down. He said no when granddad told him to join MI6. He isn't like me or you. He doesn't count as much as Terry did. Terry was more of a brother to dad, they were closer, and they knew each other better. And then Terry killed him. So you tell me who to trust, Ian."

"Jesus, John, why are you making this so difficult?" Ian's voice rose slightly.

"Because I might have reason to suspect you" John said very stiffly, his jaw rippling as soon as the words came out of his mouth.

Ian's jaw fell open, his eyes widened and for a second his mind froze over. "John…" he trailed off, unable to think of anything else to say. He took a breath or two in an attempt to calm himself, but when he failed, he forced his voice still and said "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way." His eyes suddenly became a cold steely color and his expression hardened into a fusion of anger and sorrow. But at the moment mostly anger. And with one last glance at his brother, Ian turned and walked away, back towards the chopper

"Ian, hold on!" John turned and called after a while. But Ian, who was already a good distance away didn't respond. "Ian-"

"Fuck off, John!"

Well that certainly shut John up. He stood there for a while longer, wondering what had just happened. He and Ian had, had disagreements about Ash before, but it had never been this serious. For one, Ian had never screamed at him like that before. But John just couldn't understand why Ian felt so strongly against Ash. Everything about that man seemed so pure and good. And what the hell had convinced him to tell Ian he's suspected? Just because MI6 has been having a few leaks didn't automatically mean the youngest most vulnerable person in the agency was the spy. John shook his head and decided to go talk to Ian before he did something stupid.

John had learned over the course of several years, that when teenagers such as Ian were emotionally distraught, things tended to go very awry-one way or the other.

He headed back to the chopper, but as he approached it, found his brother nowhere to be seen.

Helen was seated in the back, the doors on either side of the chopper wide open to let some air in and Tobey was out back, a few medics tending to him. He didn't look like he was dying, so John took it, it was alright to stop worrying about his god brother.

"Helen!" he called up to the older woman as soon as he came close enough to the chopper. "Have you seen Ian?"

"Yes" Helen said bitterly "He stopped by here, told me that if you came looking for him to ask you why you don't just 'call and ask Ash' and then stormed off that way" she said pointing to the direction opposite the way John had just walked down.

John sighed and lifted himself up into the chopper and sat across from Helen. "What am I going to do with him?"

"Who is this Ash person, John?" Helen asked carefully.

"My best friend" John answered softly.

"And…"

"And Ian doesn't trust him-says there's something wrong about him-but I don't get it because Ash has helped me to no end and he's proven himself trustworthy."

"And why aren't you sure that you should trust Ian-your own brother?"

"You heard that?"

Helen's eyebrows shot up "I'm sure even _Alex_ heard you two going at it"

John sighed and ran a hand through his hair "But Ash _is_ right. Ian's a hormonal teenager that doesn't even know what he wants yet! He's still not sure where his loyalties lie, he's emotionally unstable and he can be bought very easily-"

"John Rider, how can you say that?" Helen narrowed her eyes "He's your brother!"

"Yes but-"

"No buts, how can you say that about him? Instead of thinking he can be bought why can't he be innocent?"

John snorted "Ian's killed more men than the years you and I have been alive put together-and he's only 18. He is the farthest thing from innocent."

"I don't mean innocent that way, John" Helen said seriously "I mean like when a little boy grows up idolizing Superman, believing with his mind, heart and soul that there can be nothing wrong with or evil about this person that he idolizes and respects so very dearly. Innocent in that sense, except instead of worshipping Superman, like normal kids, Ian idolizes you."

John's saw fell open a bit.

"Ian trusts you with his life. That boy has so much blind faith in you-and for him to hear that you don't trust him…" Helen looked John in the eyes "It must have hurt. A lot."

John remained silent.

"He's only 18, John, he's seen things people twice his age will never see. And you just added accused of being a spy by own brother to that list" Helen said softly "He's just a child, don't make him grow up any faster than he has to and for god's sake don't force him to do things you'll both regret."

John looked down "This still doesn't shake my faith in Ash…"

"Blood is thicker than water, John. Think about it."

"Alright, we're good to go" came Tobey's voice as he approached the open door at John's side "Any idea where my bro is?"

John simply shook his head.

Tobey sighed as he pulled a small walkie-talkie from his belt and brought it to his mouth.

"Evans to Rider, come in, Evans to Rider" he called into the device. His voice echoed from John's own walkie-talkie and Tobey suddenly realized the man sitting in front of him was a Rider as well and brought the walkie back to his mouth "Evans to Rider, _Ian_" he corrected "Evans to Rider, Ian, come in."

He waited and after a while a reply came from the other end "Rider, Ian to Evans, copy."

"Ian, where are you?"

"Out."

"Geez I know that, but can you come back, we're ready to take off."

"I'll be there in a minute. Rider out."

And true to his word, within exactly 60 seconds, Ian had climbed into the chopper. He purposely avoided his brother's gaze, despite sitting next to him. He slammed the door on his side shut with much more force than necessary, seeing the other was already closed.

"Alright, we are clear for take-off. John, are we all good back there?" Tobey called as he flipped a few switches.

"Yeah…" John said quietly.

"Good" Tobey said "We should be home in about three hours or so."

And that was the last word anyone spoke till they were in the air. It was then that the thick silence and heavy tension between himself and Ian began to bother John. He thought several times of just coming out with it and trying to set things straight but backed away just as many times. And finally, after having gone over it about a million and one times in his head, John turned to his brother.

"Hey…"

Ian looked away from the window at his brother-though anywhere but his eyes. John noticed how Ian's own darker grey eyes were a bit red and puffy.

"You alright?" he said lamely. _Course he's not alright, he looks like he's been crying up a bloody ocean, you dumbass…_

"More or less" Ian muttered, his voice a little hoarse.

"Ian, listen I hope you know I didn't mean that stuff I said back there-" John decided to just come out with it "I could never _really_ distrust you-you're-you're-who are you?"

The corners of Ian's lips twitched upward. He hesitated a bit before he looked up into his brother's eyes and answered "Your baby brother…"

"Right and I love you as much as…"

"The world, the heavens and beyond" Ian finished. "I know…but sometimes I'm not so sure _you_ know…"

John froze for a moment. He wasn't really sure how to answer that one.

"I do now…" he managed after a while. "And I'm sorry about you know…all that stuff…I-you're my brother, I shouldn't have said all that…"

Ian turned to the window again in an attempt to hide an overwhelming surge of tears.

"Hey, come on" John said, pulling his brother away from the window and into a hug. Ian wasted no time to return the embrace and burry his face into his brother's chest. John put an arm around the younger and looked up at Helen, then smiled as she lipsed "Superman."

After about ten minutes or so, Ian was fast asleep under his brother's arm, worn out from the days events. And eventually, both John and Helen found themselves observing him in his care free slumber.

"It's the only time he looks so…calm…so peaceful" John said breaking the silence. "It's good to see him like this. Without nightmare or anything-he has nightmares a lot. It's something I don't think he'll ever grow out of, these nightmares."

"So young and yet so old" Helen sighed.

John nodded "And he's so sensitive. I mean he comes off as this psychopathic teenager that MI6 has twisted into killing and such but inside he's so soft and sensitive, sometimes I'm afraid if I let him out of my sight he'll break."

"Scott was like that. So strong on the outside, but inside…" Helen said.

John became silent at the mention of the youngest Woodson.

"He's not dead" Helen stated softly "I know he's not. He's out there somewhere…I just wish I knew where…."

John simply sighed, looking down. And after a while, after Helen had dropped the topic and returned to looking out the window, John pulled out his phone and tapped the screen.

_Menu_

_Messages_

_Create Message_

_To: Ash _

_Need you to find someone for me. I have some limited info, but it should be enough. Plus I've got a blood sample of the father that I'll send you via scanner through the phone. Anyway, here's what I've got:_

_Brother: James Woodson-He was a soldier, deceased but I'm sure you can find something based on his file. Father: Alex Woodson. Mother: Helen Woodson. _

_His name, Scott Woodson._

**Well, that was it, hope you guys liked it =] I love to see a little bit of angst followed by mush =D What's you think though because I don't really like Ash and I loved bashing him so...yeah XD**

**Anywho I've already got the next one written up so it'll be up by tomorrow or the day after =]**

**Review!!!**


	7. Recovering

**Hey guys, here's the next one =] I just loved the way Tobey and his background came out in the last few chapters, so I decided to bring them in here =] Enjoy!!**

Thomas Connor Evans strode quickly and powerfully into Chelsea hospital, his black trench coat billowing behind him. His thoughts were racing and his hands were fisted to mask his pounding heart. He immediately went to the front desk and upon approaching the young woman there spoke quickly and clearly "I'm here to see Ian James Rider."

"Ian James Rider is medicated under special services, I'll need to see some i.d" the woman replied equally as fast. Tommy wasted no time to whip his MI6 identification badge from his coat and hand it to the woman.

She looked over it real fast, before handing it back to him "And your relationship to Mr. Rider?"

"I'm his godfather" Tommy replied, placing his badge back into coat.

The woman tapped a few keys on the keyboard of her computer and leaned closer to the screen, "Thomas Conor Evans?" she read off the screen.

"Yes" Tommy said.

"Alright, Mr. Rider is in Room 809" the woman said reading from the computer.

Tommy gave her a quick thank you before shooting towards the elevator and heading to Room 809. He was pleased to find the room heavily secured by two enormous men that demanded his relation to Ian, and then ask someone or other inside whether to let him in or not. He assumed whoever was inside knew him because the guards gave him an ok and let him in.

Upon stepping in he saw Ian lying in a bed right next to the glass wall opposing the door, John sitting on the bed next to his brother and his own son, Tobey sitting on a chair next to the bed. All three of them turned to face Tommy as he entered.

"Hey Tom, thank god you're here" John smiled, seeing his godfather.

"Jesus, Tom why do you look like you just came back from a conference with the Mafia?" Ian narrowed his eyes at the older. His shoulder and leg now properly bandaged and rested. "You like-like the freaking Godfather!"

"Cause I just did" Tommy smirked. "And as far as you're concerned I _am_ The Godfather, alright?" He turned and nodded to his son "Tobey."

"Hey, dad" Tobey smiled back.

"Listen Tom, its good you're here finally have someone responsible to leave Ian with while I go down to check on Helen. Tobey was just gonna go down to get us some food. So while he does that I'll go see how Helen's doing. I'm guessing she's a bit shaken up, especially since we decided to have the memorial service as soon as we got here."

Tommy vaguely remembered hearing the name Helen when Tobey had given him a briefing on the mission.

"I see…" Tommy nodded "I think I'd like to meet this Helen that Tobey's told me so much about too. Only say hello to her, after that I'll be back here with Ian, so feel free to go wherever you please-I'll be here as long as you need me."

"Great, I think I'll drop home and keep Helen for a little while too, I mean knowing her she's probably dying of loneliness knowing I'm in London…" John muttered.

"You need not do that, Alaina's over at your house right now. She heard the briefing Tobey gave me about the mission and I'm sure she'll be around to keep Helen busy" Tommy informed him.

"Good, I just run down to see Helen" John said standing up.

"I'll go with you then, maybe say hi to Helen too" Tobey stood up. He, John and Tommy turned to Ian and in unison said "Be good, eh?"

"Why does everyone say that before leaving me? Why?" Ian shouted incredulously.

"Cause you're a hell of a trouble maker that's why" Tommy chuckled as he stepped back towards the door.

"I'll be going then" John chuckled as he and Tobey made for the door as well.

"Give her my best" Ian called after them

"Will do" Tobey called back before they left.

* * *

Helen didn't really need to be at the hospital; still it never killed anyone to get a checkup just in case. Plus she wasn't exactly 20 anymore and a checkup plus a while to rest especially after the death of her husband was appreciated. It wasn't like she had anywhere to go anyway.

So here she was sitting up in here hospital bed, when there was a light knock on the door.

"Come in" she called softly, hoping it was who she thought it was.

The doorknob twisted and a moment later John Rider stepped through the door, Tobey Evans and another man that looked incredibly similar to him, a step behind him.

"Hey…" John said softly as he walked in.

"Hello boys" she smiled back.

"Hey Helen, doing alright?" Tobey asked.

Helen nodded "And you? You know you had me worried there when your injuries acted up back during our flight."

"Yes well, broken ribs tend to do that" Tobey shrugged "But it's good now."

"Thank Tommy, who got us an excellent medical team" John said.

"Yes, thank, Dad" Tobey said turning to face his father. Tommy simply smiled.

"So you are the amazing godfather Ian told me so much about?" Helen smiled at Tommy.

"And you, the wonderful Helen, Tobey told _me_ so much about" Tommy replied.

Helen chuckled "Well, let me tell you, you've got a fine son over there. He's definitely one to be proud of."

Tobey looked away a bit bashfully as Tommy looked at him with raised brows. "I know, I am. Although…" Tommy grinned "He could be a bit of a pain sometimes-feel free to take him off my hands _any_ time you want."

"Dad!" Tobey drawled.

Both Helen and John laughed. "I will" Helen replied.

"Well," Tommy sighed "I better go back upstairs to Ian-knowing him he's probably dying from lack of human company and someone to run his mouth off to."

"Yup" John nodded "Definitely."

"I guess I better be heading out then, cause I don't know about you two but I'm freaking starving" Tobey said looking to John and then to Tommy.

"Yeah, do that" John said.

"Alright then, Helen it was great meeting you" Tommy nodded curtly to the older.

"And you" Helen did the same.

"Catch ya later Helen" obey winked playfully at her before following his father out the door.

Helen chuckled after him "You live around amazing people" she said to John.

"I know."

* * *

"Hey kiddo, I'm back" Tommy said as he walked back into Ian's room.

"Fantastic, someone throw a party, The Godfather's back" Ian deadpanned.

"I take it you don't feel too good?" Tommy chuckled as he walked over to the mini-refrigerator at the corner of the room.

"Disappointingly there's nothing in there but water and juice" Ian sighed as Tommy opened it up.

"It's a hospital, what did you expect, beers and cigars?" Tommy replied.

Tommy pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge and turned to his godson "So how are you feeling? Tobey told me you got shot twice, shoulder and leg."

"Yeah, I feel like shit" Ian smirked, looking out into the blue skies.

"Hell of a mission eh?" Tommy said removing the cap of his water.

"Yeah. Tobey said you canceled a mission to come here" Ian stated.

"Course, you really think I could focus on a mission knowing I haven't seen with my own eyes that you're alright?" Tommy said ruffling Ian's hair fondly.

"You see, that's another thing people do too much. Mess up my hair" Ian pointed.

"Mess up your hair?" Tommy raised a brow "Like there's any order up there to begin with."

"Haha, very funny" Ian narrowed his eyes.

"Not to mention it just looks purely mess-up-able. I mean the way you leave it all fluffy and-Any chick would die for that, Ian" Tommy laughed.

"You're having _so_ much fun right now, aren't you?" Ian muttered.

"_So_ much, godson mine" Tommy nodded.

* * *

"How are you?" John asked as he closed the door Tobey had left open and going over to Helen.

"Good I guess. Nothing's physically wrong so…" Helen trailed off, avoiding John's deep gray eyes.

"I know that" John said taking a deep breath. He sat down at the edge of the bed and carefully took one of her hands both of his. "I mean mentally-emotionally."

"Terrible" Helen muttered "I haven't the faintest idea what I'm going to do now that Alex is-is gone."

"You don't have to worry about that" John said tightening his grip on her hand "I'll have you a place to stay by the time you're out of here, wherever you want, here back in Heathrow, wherever you can possibly want a house, I'll have it for you. And I'll have the SAS make sure you have steady income-trust me I'll keep you well for the rest of your life. I mean I owe you at least that much after what I did-"

"John, don't you for a single second blame yourself for Alex's death" Helen chastised him.

"It was my fault. If I hadn't come into your lives like that-"

"Your coming into our lives was a blessing" Helen corrected "If Alex decided to use his last breaths to tell you that himself, I don't see why you still doubt it."

"I…" John trailed off "I guess it's not really this that's bringing what I'm saying out…I guess…I'm letting the feelings that I had for my own father's death out…with Alex's…"

"And why is that?"

"The mission that killed my parents, I was supposed to go on it with them but I severely injured my leg on my previous mission and couldn't go with them. God if I'd just been a little more careful and gone on that mission with them-they could be alive right now! If it weren't for me, Alex would be alive right now!"

"Blame yourself one more time young man" Helen narrowed her eyes "And see what I do to you."

John chuckled. He suddenly realized Helen's hand was still in his own two. He tightened his grip a bit. "I guess" his voice shook a little "I guess I'm just a bit shaken is all. Alex…he just became such a father like figure to me in such a short time…and to have him taken away just as fast…"

"I know just how you feel" Helen smiled sadly.

John looked down as he felt tears brimming his eyes. He felt incredibly stupid, being a 25 year old man on the verge of tears, but he couldn't help it. He felt Helen put a hand on his shoulder. He hesitated a little but then took the older woman into a hug. A warm embrace to calm his nerves.

And he was relieved when she returned it.

After a short eternity, John pulled away and looked down at his hands. He was a bit startled when Helen put her hand over his. He looked up at her.

"How is your wife?" Helen asked. She had gotten to briefly meet Helen Rider at Alex's memorial and found her to be someone she took an immediate liking to. She was happy to see John with such a wonderful woman.

"She's doing alright" John answered, returning his gaze to his hands "Tommy's wife, Alaina's with her right now."

"What about your friend, Ash?"

"…He's there too."

"Does Ian know?"

"…No."

"You should tell him before he finds out himself, that way-"

"He'll know I trust him enough to tell him…I know. But god knows I don't want to see his reaction to it-even after he told me not to…"

"Then why'd you do it?"

"Because….I don't know…I-"

"It's alright; you don't have to tell me…"

"God, I feel so stupid right now…"

"Understandable"

"Sounds like something my mother would say"

"Also understandable"

John chuckled "You're really quite the person, you know that?"

"I've been told" Helen replied.

John opened his mouth to respond but was cut off as the walkie-talkie at his waist went off:

"Evans, Thomas to Rider, John, do you read?"

John plucked the walkie from his waist and brought it to his mouth "Loud and clear, boss, what's up?"

"They're going to do a check-up on Ian and they need you here"

John frowned "You're like the second person on his clearance list after myself; why do they need me?"

"Apparently I haven't attended check-ups in over two months and for security purposes they can't let have me present till you clear me again"

"Fucking MI6 really over does the security sometimes" John growled rolling his eyes, more annoyed than angry.

"You can hardly blame them"

"I know, I'll be there in a minute." John then returned the walkie to his belt and turned to Helen "Well, you heard him. I have to run, but I'll be back in a bit. You know these things, they want a legal guardian present at least 6 months after Ian turns of age-he's shy just one month" he sighed.

"I understand, go on, I'm sure I'll live" Helen smiled.

"Thanks, I'll be back before you know it" John said as he got up and headed towards the door.

"I'm sure you will be" Helen managed before the younger was out the door. She shook her head, smiling.

* * *

Upon stepping out of Helen's room, John glanced briefly at the two body guards on either side of the door before he dashed for the nearest elevator. He stopped however when his walkie-talkie went off again.

"Hey, John, this is Tobey, come in"

"Copy" John said drawing his walkie once again.

"Hey, listen, I'm at the front desk and there is a…" there was a brief pause here "Scott Woodson here to see Helen…"

For a moment John could only stare at the walkie-talkie in his palm in surprise. Ash had never gotten back to him after he'd sent him Scott's information so he just assumed they were still working on it. But seemed like MI6'd gotten the picture and done him a little favor. Not only had they found Woodson, they'd also sent him here. Holy shit, he'd never loved the damned organization more.

"John?" Tobey's unsure voice came "Still there bro?"

"Yeah, yeah! Send him up!"

"Sure?"

"Absolutely, send him up."

"Sure thing-and man, maybe it's just me but this guy has an, insanely close resemblance to Ian…it's a little scary…"

John smiled. Oh yeah, that was definitely their man. "Perfect"

"Right…whatever you say. I'll just get going then. Food awaits."

"Right, you do that" John chuckled as he hung up the transmission and returned his walkie to his belt.

And sure enough, after a few minutes John saw a man come down the hall towards him. The man, John observed was tall, broad shouldered and had a solid body. He wore a dark brown leather jacket that was unzipped, revealing a body tight black shirt a slightly worn pair of jeans. His black and white converse showed a bit of wear and tear as well as he walked towards John, a certain vigorous bounce in his step.

And good god-he did look like Ian. If John wasn't absolutely positive that Ian was cooped up in a hospital bed he would have thought that was his brother walking down the hallway right there-that was how much they looked alike.

John was shaken from his thoughts as Scott Woodson approached him. "John Rider?"

Shit, he even _sounded_ like Ian.

"Er, yes, and you must be Scott" John held out a hand to him "It's nice to meet you."

"Pleasure's mine" Scott said meeting the hand for a shake "I was told that you helped out my mother a great deal while she was in danger, thank you."

"What else did they tell you?" John narrowed his eyes.

"Nothing much other than that" Scott shrugged. He paused a looked around, then hesitantly asked "Where is my father?"

"Gone" John sighed "I was only able to bring your mother out of that one-sorry."

"My brother?"

"Killed in a battle not too long after you left home" John noticed Scott's entire body flinch.

"And my mother?"

"You're here to see her aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Well then go" John said stepping out of the way of the door, giving a warning glance to the body guards as he did so "Feel free to stay as long as you like-visiting hours are not a matter for us."

Scott simply nodded and went for the door-but then stopped. He turned back to John "Erm, that shirt-have I seen-"

"It's your brother's-Alex gave it to me some time before he was killed" John cut him off.

"Ah" Scot nodded before he went for the door once again.

"Oh, and Scott?" John called after him

"Yes?" he turned back.

"Your father's will was released a while back."

"And?"

"He left everything to you. _Everything_."

John watched as Scott's jaw fell open. "He didn't think I was dead?"

John simply shook his head.

Scott, still in shock, just turned and finally stepped into his mother's room.

John sighed and decided it would be best for him to be there when Scott walked out. He pulled the walkie-talkie from his belt:

"Tommy?"

"…Yeah?"

"Is Ian gonna live?"

"Yes, why?"

"I might be out for a bit longer-urgent bit of business."

* * *

John at a bench outside Helen's door for an indefinite amount of time. It seemed like absolutely forever-though he didn't blame them. It had been a while after all. Sometime in the middle Ash had called him and asked him how he liked the "surprise" and then gave him a few minor details and such about Alex. After Ash hung up thought he had to for the most part entertain himself until Scott appeared at the door once more, Helen at his side. A bit stunned, John went over to them.

"Since there's proven blood relation between us, I've already gotten a clearance to bring her with me. And since she's not injured in any physical way, she's clear for release as well, all I have to so now is sign some papers and she's free to come with me" Scott explained after John had asked.

"That's great" He smiled "Where do you plan to go?"

"I live in Paris-I've lived there since I left home" Scott took a breath "I have a wife, she's American, and twins a boy and a girl. I'm sure Mum will be happy living with us."

"I'm sure she will" John beamed at Helen. "I won't be seeing you again will I?"

"Not unless you drop by to Paris any time soon-which might I add you must do with your child some time" Helen smiled.

John chuckled "I will-" his expression suddenly became a bit sullen "Listen Helen, I-"

"No need for you to say a word" Helen cut him off "You are just the most amazing person I have ever chanced to meet John Rider, and you must promise me to take care."

"I will, I promise" John nodded.

"And tell Ian to be good."

John snorted "Sure thing."

Helen then brought John into a soft hug, and upon releasing him, traced a hand across his cheek in a motherly gesture "Live long, son."

John then smiled, a small yet genuine smile. He nodded and with that Scott and Helen turned to leave. And half way down the hall, Scott turned back to face John and lipsed a meaningful and sincere "Thank you."

John simply nodded in response and watched mother and son disappear down the hall. And once he could see them no more, he turned around and went back to that elevator he'd originally intended to take up to Ian's room. He didn't have to wait for it and immediately stepped in. And as the elevator doors closed in front of him, he roughly brushed a hand across his eyes.

* * *

"Jesus, John it's been like…what an hour?" Tommy said as his older godson stepped into the room. He was sitting in a chair against the wall in the most un-calm-and-collective-MI6-agent-like manner possible; legs apart, shoulders slummed, halfway down his chair and his arms half on the rests and half hanging off.

Ian looked like he was a bit tired of the wait as well, he looked incredibly relaxed for someone that was getting ready for a check-up, and sitting in a chair near him was Nurse Anna Raith, Ian's usual nurse. Actually she was the nurse that dealt with anything that had to do with the Evans-Rider bunch. They'd been put into the hospital so many times they each had their own room and their own nurse, Anna. She was a part time nurse, though almost twice as professional as most that worked the position full-time. She used up the other half of her schedule in college. She was a good foot shorter than John. She had jet black hair that she kept tied most of the time and had light hazel eyes. Oh and lets not forget she was a close friend of Ian's and Tobey's girlfriend of three years.

"Honestly, John, I would have checked him up the second I got here, but you know the whole standard procedure garbage" she rolled her eyes "I need you to sign the papers and what not."

"Yeah, I know" John sighed as he walked over to his brother "Helen just got released."

Ian's brows shot up "Alone?"

"No, with Scott" John corrected.

"Scott-you found him?!"

John nodded with a grin "Picked her up a few minutes ago. He's got a wife and kids in Paris; he's bringing her there to live with him."

"That's fantastic!" Ian beamed, still in a bit of disbelief.

"I know-oh and she told you to be good" John smirked.

"Typical" Ian narrowed his eyes. He turned back to Anna "Alright well, now that he's here, can we just get this over with?"

"Sure thing" Anna sighed, lifting herself out of her chair.

In the next 10 minutes or so, Anna changed Ian's bandages, checked him over for any infections or other injuries, while John and Tommy engaged in a rather pointless conversation. Football, the weather, a new parking ticket and such.

"But I'm probably just gonna get Blunt to remove it for me" Tommy waved his hand to emphasize his point "I mean so I illegally parked my car so half of London wouldn't be blown to smithereens. Kill me."

John just shook his head, smiling. And just as he was about to say something, the door to the room was suddenly thrown open, startling the people inside.

John and Tommy immediately reached for the arsenal of weapons scattered across their bodies. But stopped as they saw Tobey stumble in, panting and gasping fro breath. "John!" he choked out.

"What?" John said turning to face him with a concerned expression.

"It's Helen" Tobey said, wide eyed.

For a moment John wondered which Helen Tobey was talking about but the younger quickly clarified as if he knew his god brother would ask.

"Your wife! Helen is in labor!"

Immediately all three men in the room gave a shout of "What?!"

"Yes, Helen is in labor, right here, right now!" Tobey shouted "Mum and-" he stopped himself just as he was about to say Ash and decided life would go on if he didn't mention him as of now "Mum brought her here a minute ago-" John suddenly felt his heart rate shoot up about fifty times and when he failed to respond, Tobey looked him in the eyes and yelled "John, get your ass down there, this instant!"

"I-yeah, hang on" John stuttered, turning to Ian "You'll be alri-"

"Yes, I'll be fine!" Ian shouted with a suppressed grin "Go!"

"Er-yeah-right-bye" John muttered awkwardly before shooting out the door. Tobey rolled his eyes expectantly and ticked off the seconds on his fingers before John came running back to him and before the older could even open his mouth Tobey said almost lazily "Room 709."

"Thanks" John managed before heading off again.

"Good luck!" Tommy called after his godson.

"I'm gonna need it!" was the echoing reply from down the hall.

Tommy chuckled, shaking his head "Kids."

**Alright, I know this completely disreguards the things Ash told Alex in Snakehead but you know me, I really don't like Ash and everything he says is bull in my stories =D And as per the ending, I thought I'd make it a little humorous, I mean, men XD We all know how they can be XD**

**Alright anyway, I hope you guys liked and please Review!! =]**


	8. Infragilis Vinculum

**Hey guys, this is the last one for you. Yup, the last chapter *sniffles* so please enjoy! **

**Oh and one more thing, I added a part to Ian and John's argument two chapters ago and I think certain aspects of this chapter will make a lot more sense if you go on and read that real fast =] Again, Enjoy! **

"My god…" John whispered breathlessly staring at the small child in his arms "He's amazing."

"He's your son" Helen smiled.

"Of course he's _my_ son, I mean look at how handsome he already is! He is definitely mine" John grinned. Helen slapped him playfully on the arm.

"God, this is amazing" John shook his head with a smile as he sat down on the hospital bed at his wife's side.

"You're telling me?" she smiled. John returned it with a grin.

"How's Ian?" she asked suddenly.

"He's doing better" John nodded "Tom told me a while back that they had to practically tie him down to keep him from running down here to see you and his new nephew."

Helen laughed "Typical Ian." Her expression suddenly darkened a bit "Listen, I heard that you and Ian had a little bit of an argument-"

"From who?"

"It doesn't matter" Helen said shaking her head "John, he's 18, he's your brother. Leave him alone."

"Yeah…I know" John sighed "Where's Ash? He was here a minute ago…"

"Didn't he _run off_ a minute ago?"

John furrowed his brows.

"Said he got a call and needed to go in" Helen explained with a frown "Not to worry though, Alaina, Tobey and Tommy are here, and knowing Ian, he'll probably crawl out the window and sneak in here."

John laughed "Yeah…"

"That's what you call a brother, John" Helen said softly "He could be dying and he still wouldn't miss the birth of your first child. He cancelled a mission and got himself killed by Blunt just to attend our wedding, I'm sure he'd do the same for the birth of our child any day" she said, indirectly attacking Ash's leaving.

"I know…" John looked down "But Ash doesn't mean any harm, Helen. When he gets back I definitely want to talk to him…you know…I really want to make him the godfather of my son…"

Helen's expression was unreadable for a second but she quickly changed it to a smile "Alright, John. If that's what you want."

John smiled, leaned over and kissed his wife on the forehead "I love you." He then looked down at his son "And you too young man."

At that moment, the door to the room creaked open the slightest bit and the head of Ian Rider poked in "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Not at all, Ian, come in" Helen smiled at the young man that was practically her brother.

"Cool" Ian said as he stepped into the room, a crutch at his right side.

"They actually let you out?" John asked as his brother limped his way over and took a seat next to him.

"Well, Tommy's just dying to see John Jr. here and he's not allowed to leave me so his only option was to have me tag along" Ian grinned "He's standing outside on watch, told me I should go in first."

"Well, it's good to see you walking so soon, Ian" Helen smiled at the younger.

"And it's good to see you doing well so soon after giving birth to Satan's kid" Ian glared playfully at his brother, earning him a smack across the head.

"It's a boy" John smiled at the child in his arms.

"He's incredible" Ian breathed, looking at his nephew "Can I hold him?"

"Course, go ahead" John said, handing the child over to his brother.

"I've got a nephew" Ian marveled, looking down at the boy "Hey, little guy."

"That's your Uncle Ian, son" John smiled.

Ian frowned "Not uncle…I don't think I want him to call me uncle."

"Why not?" Helen raised a brow.

"Dunno…first off, the word uncle doesn't hold very valuable memories for me…" Ian sighed "I guess uncle…uncle can mean anyone…in some places people call every other man in their life uncle…I think father's brother better describes the relation."

"I agree" John nodded, knowing exactly what his brother was talking about.

"What I really mean is…I want my nephew to know I'm not gonna be any Uncle Terry which is basically the only way I can describe him…I want my nephew to know that I am his father's brother. I don't know…it's incredibly hard to explain."

"I know what you mean" John said slowly.

"I know you know…" Ian looked down at his nephew "I want him to know."

A comfortable silence came over the room as all three adults stared admiringly at the beautiful child in Ian's arms.

"Have you named him yet?" Ian asked suddenly after a while "Or are you juts gonna name him after good old daddy?" he added with a smirk.

"Right, you'd said you wanted Tony if it was a boy" Helen nodded.

"Actually…" John said a bit absentmindedly. "I think…I've got something else I'd like to name my son…"

Both Helen and Ian raised a brow-though Ian had a feeling he knew.

"Alex" John said with a smile. "Alex Tony Rider."

"I think I like the sound of that" Ian said with a smile of his own "Helen?"

"Beautiful" Helen nodded.

"Well, he's your son" Ian said handing the newly named child back to his mother. "If you approve than that's that."

John nodded. He looked up to his brother, who was grinning like he hadn't seen in a long time. It made him feel good, knowing his brother was so happy for the birth of his first child. Ian looked back at him and for a second both their grey eyes locked upon one another. And for one split second, they saw the utter devotion, love, care and belief in one another's eyes. And with that, both their faces broke out into smiles.

"So, Alex Tony Rider" Ian said turning to Helen "When exactly will we be bringing you home?"

"In a few weeks or so" Helen answered.

"Can't wait" Ian said "You know, you two should totally come with me and Tobey to France in three months."

"Yes, of course, have the first piece of music my son listens to from a U2 concert in France, genius" John rolled his eyes.

"It's not a bad idea actually" Helen muttered.

All three of them proceeded to burst into laughter.

Oh yes, it was good to be home. It was good to see the smiling faces of the ones they loved the most, and for John, it was so amazing to see the unity of family. To see his family come together before him, laughing and being human if only for the moment, was an incredible experience. To see his son who was soon going to join the laughter-his son who was named after a true hero-flawed and regretful, maybe-but a true hero. And it did hurt John a bit, that his son would never meet his namesake, but one day, he did plan on bringing him to see Helen. Yes, that was a trip he would definitely plan sometime soon-To see his wife, who had a life like no other. And his brother, whose eyes sudden lit up with a glow John hadn't seen in years. It really was great to see that-especially after recent events. It was great really, to see them recover from a fight like that so fast, be able to fall back into place and trust one another with their lives so soon after a row.

It was a part of…what was it that their dad used to say? Ah yes, their _Infragilis Vinculum_.

**Aw, I can't believe it's over. I really love this story, and even though it's only eight chapters long I'm really attached to it =] It was so fantastic and fun to write, and I hope you had just as much fun reading it as I did writing it =]**

**And if you've been reading this as an individual story and haven't read Quondam Iterum yet, I would greatly appreciate if you did, because it's the base of this and I'm sure if you liked this, then you'll love that =]**

**For the last time, Review!!**


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